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     Most Governments Not Transparent in Managing Natural Resources: Study

   A new study says less than 20 percent of the world`s major oil-, gas-,
   and mineral-rich countries meet satisfactory standards for transparency
   and accountability.
   The Revenue Watch Institute report released Wednesday said the lives of
   over a billion citizens worldwide could be transformed if their
   governments managed natural resources better.
   Only 11 of the 58 countries in the New York-based group`s Resource
   Governance Index were found to have "embraced openness and
   accountability." In the others, the report said "opacity, corruption,
   and weak processes keep citizens from fully benefiting from their
   countries` resource wealth."
   The worst-ranked country was Burma, which received a failing score of
   just 4 on a scale of 1 to 100. The report described the country`s
   extractive industries as "infamously opaque," saying almost no public
   information is available on the management of the country`s resources.
   But the report noted it is "widely assumed that corruption is rampant
   in the sector and that much of the country`s resource revenues have
   been diverted to the foreign bank accounts of a few government
   officials."
   Revenue Watch says that the worst performing countries depend almost
   exclusively on revenues from natural resources as their main source of
   income. It said the most resource-dependent regions, the Middle East
   and North Africa, are the worst performing.
   The most transparent country on the list was Norway, one of the world`s
   major oil and gas exporters, which scored a 98. The United States came
   in second with a score of 92.
   The report noted that key U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia and
   Afghanistan, do not manage their resources transparently. It also
   called on Western countries to "ensure that their multinational
   companies do not facilitate the opacity found in many countries where
   they operate."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/most-governments-not-transparent-in-m
   anaging-natural-resources-study/1661232.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/most-governments-not-transparent-in-managing-natural-resources-study/1661232.html